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Holy Cross Abbey

901 Cool Spring Lane Berryville, Virginia 22611

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Wednesday of the 14th Week of the Year—Blessed Eugene

July 9, 2026 by Fr Joseph

As Christians we are so familiar with the notion of seeking God and so we might miss the nuance in this morning’s response to the psalm in which we are exhorted to seek always the face of the Lord. And yet, to seek the Lord and to seek the face of the Lord, are not necessarily identical or merely similar words for the same reality. For, there are any number of reasons we might seek the Lord and many of these may be very selfish and self-serving—seeking the Lord in our need and desiring his help. However, seeking the face of the Lord connotes a desire for a personal encounter with a personal God rather than seeking the aid of some impersonal power in our need. And so it was that Moses, who had spoken so often to the Lord—and just as often been spoken to by the Lord—requested to see God’s face. In the thought of Saint Bernard so many people, alas, love God for their own sakes and merely seek the Lord; all too few love God for God’s sake and seek not just the Lord, but rather seek the face of the Lord. An invitation, then, to examine our own hearts and answer the question: What are we seeking; the Lord or the face of the Lord? For, as Jesus warned: Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

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